Curiosity may appear courageous until it begins to scream. It happened to one of the indoor cats, S’mores, when a single slip through an open door became a very relatable experience of the outside world lacking volume controls. One of the home security cameras has recorded the whole moment, and the video went viral, attracting more than two million views and almost 350,000 likes as people witnessed a small adventurer quickly reevaluate his decisions.
Initially, S’mores is stepping out of the doorstep as though he has something to do. His tail is raised and his ears are facing forward as he sniffs the air and gets a new complete array of smells. It is the age old, “just checking things out” pose-confident enough not to go far, careful enough not to go too far. Next a car crosses the road next to it and the sound comes as a jump scare. With a snap S’mores goes cold, turns and spins in frenzied little circles, then starts tearing at the door which has now been closed with his paws, hoping to persuade him to allow him to make his way back into the house with sheer brute strength. The meows increase in volume and the body moves even nearer to the door and the message is clear: this experiment is complete.
At last, when his person opens the door, S’mores is rushing inside at full speed, and it is the same old silence as it is the safest place on the planet. Laughter was heard, and too many knew the feeling beneath the comedy that feeling of the self-confidence of an indoor cat that can usually be lost quickly when the outdoors is introduced with its new sounds, movement, and the broad expanse.
It is understandable that sudden change, in terms of cats. The combination of posture, position of tail, and ear set is a form of communication that cats use to indicate comfort and stress, and everything in context; a high held tail may represent confidence and a crouch, freezing, and a scramble away may represent fear, as explained in cat behaviour and body language cues. Unexpected and loud noises can cause the immediate response of “running and hiding” and cats tend to react to it by finding shelter instead of challenging the fright and it is this tendency that offers a solution to the explanation of the fear responses to loud noises.
The stakes in the case of S’mores were actual. Outdoor time, which is unmonitored, may subject cats to cars, losing them, and fights which may transmit illness. A widely-quoted threat is stress reactions that intensify when one is startled by an unexpected sound, which complicates an already dangerous situation to an even more dangerous one whether the cat panics and darts.
The push-pull is well known in many cat households: an animal demanding the door to be open and a person demanding the cat to be safe. To other families, it is not “never look outside” because sometimes finding controlled means to satisfy that desire of novelty. The solutions could be indoor enrichment, such as climbing spots and perching on windows, and more for cats that really enjoy exploring their surroundings, it is possible to introduce structured outdoor time that should be trained and supervised. Rescues and cat-advocacy groups describe a slow process of training a cat, beginning inside, combining the harness with rewards, and making initial outings quiet and near home.
The dramatic U-turn of S’mores is amusing as it has become so commonplace: the door opens, the cat has been a pioneer three consecutive seconds, and then the reality arrives, fast, noisy, and on wheels.
